FLAMES

The flame-thrower was doing what it did best: throwing flame. I ran back to join the rest of the convoy in the truck, ignoring the dying shrieks of the infected birds as they were burned alive.

Suddenly, Maelena scrambled out from under the truck, putting us both in the danger zone. She ran into my arms and I held her, trying to protect her from a fiery death we were both to experience for as long as I could. I felt the heat at my back and closed my eyes, prepared to die.

I sensed it before I saw it. The fire was being held at bay by some unseen force. The at-once-familiar smell of a combination of sweat, leather and female hit me as my eyes flew open. They landed immediately on the one person it could ever possibly be; the one who's remarkable strength, extraordinary beauty, both in and out, and amazing compassion had captured my heart more than five years ago, the very moment I met her. Alice Prospero-Abernathy.

Her blue eyes flickered, the force of the shield she was making with her mind causing her to grit her teeth. The flame died down, feathers falling down around us, as I released Maelena, who ran back to the truck, and hurried toward Alice. Her eyes flickered again before she collapsed face-first into my arms. I breathed a sigh of relief as she gazed up into my eyes; it was like a cold sip of water after years in the desert. I smiled at her, as she tried to catch her breath. I hugged her close, thankful to have her back at last, and her breathing eventually slowed as she fell asleep, exhausted from God-knows-what. I picked her up and carried her to my truck, laying her down in the back where I spent nights and tucking her in. She shifted and rolled over, making a smacking noise with her lips that made me smile; so innocent in sleep, so ass-kicking in reality.

I left the door cracked open as I walked over to Claire Redfield, the leader of the convoy, who was waiting for an explanation.

Alice's POV

I rolled over, sighing. I felt oddly rested, which was odd. I hugged a soft object under my head, a pillow, I guessed. I thought it was a dream, a mind-blowing dream that I could actually relax and not have to bring down a corporation that had caused the entire world to become flesh-eating zombies, until I buried my face in the pillow. The scent of sweat, gunpowder and something that was clearly male hit my nose, a familiar scent. Carlos.

My eyes flew open as the scene from earlier streamed through my head. A rather pretty girl, a teenage blond, jumped back, looking cautious and startled. I held up a hand to signal peace and smiled at her, noticing a bracelet that had been placed on my arm.

"Is this yours?" I asked, my voice raspy and dry. She handed me a bottle of water.

"Yeah. It's for luck. I figured you needed it more than I did." She said, smiling uncertainly.

"Do you have a name?" I asked before taking a sip of the water.

"K-Mart." Was her simple reply. I spit out my water to keep from choking on it, making her laugh.

"Do you have another name?" I prayed it was that simple, but stupid reality had a way of crashing down around me.

"I never liked it. Everyone I knew is dead, so it seemed like time for a change." She looked out the window as she said it. I followed her gaze to see a group of dusty children gasp and duck away from the window, afraid of getting caught.

"You're a legend, you know," She said, bringing my attention back to her, "None of us have ever seen anything like you. That was amazing; what you did, I mean."

"Not by choice. No one should ever have to be the thing I am."

"What you did was weird, and kind of scary, but Carlos trusts you," she said, "And that's enough to make anyone trust you. Carlos doesn't trust anyone of us completely, not even L.J., who's his best friend!" I looked at her, unsure of what to make of her statement. She reached out and took my hand, smiling.

"Wanna go outside?" She asked. I nodded my agreement and we opened the back doors of the truck, stepping into the bright sunlight. There were various people gathered around a row of wooden crosses, some people crying, others staring hopelessly and disbelievingly into space. K-Mart ran to Carlos, who was at the front, and threw herself into his arms. She started to bawl her eyes out; she was so young to have witnessed the amount of pain and destruction she had undoubtedly been through. A figure I recognized as L.J. dropped to the ground, holding out a necklace to put around one of the crosses, sobbing. Carlos looked up and straight at me and smiled. I smiled back, unsure whether to join in the mourning or stand back and give this convoy their space.

"Alice!" L.J. yelled, his voice choked with tears, "You're alive, bitch! Give me a hug!" He hugged me, a smile shining through his tears. I laughed.

"L.J., you son of a bitch! I can't believe this. It's good to see you1" I hugged him back, happy to see my quirky friend who, even when he was broken inside, could always smile and make someone's day brighter.